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Casino Figure Burton Cohen Dies At 90

Cohen was a co-owner of the Frontier when he first came to Las Vegas. Photo: Getty Images-75440835.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man who once served as president of some of the Las Vegas Strip’s most famous casinos has died. Burton Cohen was 90.

Cohen’s wife, Linda, said Tuesday that her husband died in his sleep.

Cohen’s Gaming Hall of Fame profile says he came to Las Vegas in 1966 as a co-owner and general manager of the Frontier casino, helped open the Circus Circus and also worked at the Flamingo, Caesars Palace, Thunderbird, and Dunes.

He’s best known for the Desert Inn casino, where the 1970s TV series “Vega$” was filmed with his support, and is credited with reviving it in the 1990s before it closed to make way for the Wynn and Encore resorts.

He’s survived by his wife, son, two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and two beloved dogs.

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